I didn’t think I was going to write one of these r...

14 Oct 2016

11 days post

I didn’t think I was going to write one of these reviews because I didn’t want my personal photos out there publicized, but I’ve had such an awesome experience with my doctor that I felt compelled to go out on a limb beyond privacy and write this. I also know how difficult and confusing of a journey it can be for someone to decide on the best surgeon for them, as it was for me, since there are so many doctors and so many reviews, fake reviews etc. So I hope this helps people, and I hope you choose the doctor I went with!

I did several years of casual research on and off, and then researched surgeons more intensively for a few months. I went to 3 other consultations, and Dr. Layke was my 4th consultation. From start to where I’m at now in my journey, it's been pretty impeccable with him and his team. From the first touch point when I filled out the free consultation form, I believe they had the best customer service and were the most prompt at getting back to me right away, very friendly and professional on the phone, etc. I live in the Los Angeles area and I met with several other very “famous” doctors in Beverly Hills, not going to mention any names here but I’m sure people have seen them on TV before. And I almost went with one of them, because of that perceived super fame but I actually didn't have as good of experiences with the others. I am SO glad I went with my doctor though and here’s the reasons why I ultimately went with him - (Yes, his office in Beverly hills is gorgeous, he's appeared on TV a lot too and his staff are all super friendly and professional but let’s be honest that’s not what anyone really cares about when we read these reviews. Lol)

#1. He was the first and only doctor that actually LISTENED to me. I didn’t hate my nose necesarily, I liked the overall style of it but just wanted a smaller and more refined version of it. I didn’t want some totally different cute button nose or something. I really wanted a subtle change and was really specific about what I wanted. I also had a lot of questions of course. And I found it pretty amazing and ridiculous how so many doctors are so impatient and rush you in the consultation, don’t seem like they want to answer your questions thoroughly, and don’t seem like they listen and care about what YOU want. And here you are ready and willing to hand them nearly 10K! And they can’t even sit there for a few extra minutes with you. They often want to give you a standard nose that THEY want to give you or think you should have, and render up images quickly that are cookie-cutter and don’t reflect what you actually want. Plastic surgeons especially Rhinoplasty surgeons should know that this is the most important surgery one could have. I mean it’s your freakin nose, and your face! I don't care if you’re an average person that just wanted to be prettier or an F-list celebrity or wannabe model who is banking their whole life and career on their nose improvement, one small mistake or millimeter in the wrong direction in one’s nose could literally ruin your life/career/love-life/self-esteem, forever. And I don’t think I’m being overly dramatic on that. I don’t think plastic surgeons really are connected to the gravity of this decision for their patients. So many of them treat people just like numbers going through a conveyor belt and don’t realize that how important it is for us to ask questions we feel we need to ask and have you take the time to give us answers and honesty. I’m sure it's annoying to them but I think more doctors should realize that if they put just a little more patience into helping clients this way, it would go a long way for them and it means so much to the patients. This is what really made me feel comfortable with my doctor. He also had the Vector imaging software, and rendered the images WITH me, together, while we talked about what I wanted and didn’t want etc, and he kept editing them with me until they reflected exactly what I wanted, and was something he felt confident and sure he could deliver on. And I was able to see what I’d look like from every angle, not just the side. A lot of doctors create them in another room or half-ass it with some photoshop. He really took his time with me and was very thorough and honest, and he said certain things about the the techniques he would use, what I should expect, and how he would go about achieving my goals that none of the other doctors said. So I trusted his expertise more as well.

#2. I had an overall great gut feeling about it. I just did and I followed my gut. It was the first consultation I had where I actually left the office EXCITED about getting the procedure, and actually couldn’t wait to get it done All the other doctors, even though extremely reputable and experienced, because of the fact that I didn’t feel they truly listened and understood what I was looking for and the other reasons I mentioned, I felt mostly nervous. I kind of felt like I would be playing Russian roulette with my face and it could either go really well or a disaster. Not sure if you guys have ever felt that. But with Dr Layke because of how he was with me, I just felt certain about it and excited, not nervous. (Well, I started getting nervous sometimes leading up to the actual surgery, but more on that later)

I can’t tell you enough how much I feel that he and his Client Care Coordinator, Brittany who is incredible, and the rest of his team actually CARE about me and were honest with me every step of the way. You should put a lot of weight into this when choosing a doctor because you are going to have a relationship with them, and when you need something, have an urgent question or have some freak-out episodes leading up to the surgery or after, and believe me you will, you’re going to want to have a doctor you sincerely trust that you’re in good hands with and who you can count on to be honest and ethical with you. You’re going to have to just trust their words (and their work) sometimes and when you do trust them because of how they’ve handled you every step of the way, you’ll either have confidence that help carry you through these things in positive spirits or you’ll have anxiety that I’m sure would be crippling and depressing. I had several little “freak out” episodes leading up to the surgery where I got a little nervous and had some more questions (mostly because of bad experiences I read about online!) that I wanted answered, and he was so patient and called me back each time, answered my questions which were repeating myself (but hey, it's your face!) and reassured me again. I heard a lot of other doctors don’t take the time out of their busy schedule to do things like this. I also had another little scare a few days before the surgery, I was having a hard time getting one of the prescriptions filled and I was worried so I left a message with his answering service after hours. He called me within a few mins and took care of it for me, and that was at 8pm on a Friday night. Very cool and I so appreciated it. And on the actual morning of surgery, of course I had some last-minute nerves. But his surgical staff and him were SO awesome and comforting and reassuring. Again, its in moments like these where you’re going to really be happy that you chose a doctor who is honest and who you trust. You are putting your life in their hands.

Now fast-forward, a few other notable things that made this experience so great -
The actual surgery wasn’t bad at all. And the recovery was so fast and virtually painless! It went wayyy better than I expected it would. I'm only 10-days post-op and I'm totally back to work and my normal life again and my nose feels like my own now. I actually can’t believe how fast I’ve recovered. As you can see from the pics, I had virtually NO bruising! He uses great technology and technique, and I followed his pre and post-op orders. (I highly recommend taking lots of Vitamin C, Bromelien and arnica as well for 10 days). I had no weird facial swelling either that I see so many people get. No black eyes. No funky upper lip thing.

My surgery was on a Monday, and by Thursday I was pain-free, off the painkillers and only taking Tylenol sometimes for mild discomfort. I could also breathe perfectly out of my nose by then and had no congestion. I also had my energy back and feeling great. I went back to work on the Monday evening after I got my cast off, and Tuesday I was seeing clients again in person. My smile and mouth movement was back to normal on Wednesday. At this point I am 10-days post-op and feeling great, and there’s barely any swelling.

Overall, so far at least, I absolutely love how my nose has turned out! I absolutely love the profile, and the front for the most part is EXACTLY what I wanted. I know there’s just a bit more of swelling so it's going to go down more, but I’m pretty sure if I love it this much now then it will be 100% what I wanted, from all angles! And the images that we created in the consultation, literally look exactly how it looks right now. I heard that’s pretty rare for people's’ actual results to look exactly like their consultation images, so again I feel like this is further confirmation that I chose the right doctor. He's a true artist and perfectionist. I am amazed when I look at myself in the mirror and when I look at my before and after pictures. He really really listened and actually delivered. His other clients say the same apparently. I specifically told him (an annoying number of times I’m sure) that I wanted only a very subtle change, and for me to keep my “Italian/Spanish look” to my nose and face. I wanted to keep that, just slightly reduced. I did not want some generic upturned or too small or “piggy” nose. And he delivered exactly the nose I wanted! I am so happy so far with the results. I hope to report more good news in a few more weeks and will post some more post-op pics!

And if you live in Southern California… just GO to Dr. Layke, he really is the best and he’ll give you a very natural nose and the one you want. And if you don’t live around here… Fly to him and go to him anyway! You will be so happy you did. And no I don’t work for him or get any kind of prize or toaster oven for shouting his praises, I’m just trying to help people out and not waste as much time. Good luck!

2 weeks Post-op and Celebrating out on the town!

19 Oct 2016

16 days post

Just wanted to update with a few more pics, so you can see the brilliance . The pics in the white dress are me in my first night back "out on the town," at only 12 days after surgery - looking and feeling great! Not one person at the party or friend who I hadn't told before, guessed that I had this procedure done. They all just kept saying how great I looked and guessed if maybe I had gotten a boob job or botox or something (lol), but when I finally told them I had just gotten my nose done just the week before, they were shocked and thought I was joking because there was no detection of it. My skin looked great, nose looked so natural and "un-done," etc but just brought out my other features more. And now at 2 weeks post op (pink dress) I am liking my nose more and more by the day. There is still some swelling that will go down too. My doctor is seriously pure brilliance and artistry! So happy and grateful :)

6-week post-op Pix!

11 Nov 2016

1 month post

Just had my 6-week post-op appt, and have posted some before/after side-by-side pics for you over the last few weeks. The Doc said I'm still actually very swollen (in the tip and in the bridge of my nose where my hump used to be), and have a ways to go down. But I think it already looks pretty great. He said if I like it already this much, I'll love it more in the next weeks and months to come. Take a look at the pics as I may remove them soon to try to keep my anonymity! ;)

1 more pic

My surgery was on a Monday, and by Thursday I was pain-free, off the painkillers and only taking Tylenol sometimes for mild discomfort. I could also breathe perfectly out of my nose by then and had no congestion. I also had my energy back and feeling great. I went back to work on the Monday evening after I got my cast off, and Tuesday I was seeing clients again in person. My smile and mouth movement was back to normal on Wednesday. At this point I am 10-days post-op and feeling great, and there’s barely any swelling.
Overall, so far at least, I absolutely love how my nose has turned out! I absolutely love the profile, and the front for the most part is EXACTLY what I wanted. I know there’s just a bit more of swelling so it's going to go down more, but I’m pretty sure if I love it this much now then it will be 100% what I wanted, from all angles! And the images that we created in the consultation, literally look exactly how it looks right now. I heard that’s pretty rare for people's’ actual results to look exactly like their consultation images, so again I feel like this is further confirmation that I chose the right doctor. He's a true artist and perfectionist. I am amazed when I look at myself in the mirror and when I look at my before and after pictures. He really really listened and actually delivered. His other clients say the same apparently. I specifically told him (an annoying number of times I’m sure) that I wanted only a very subtle change, and for me to keep my “Italian/Spanish look” to my nose and face. I wanted to keep that, just slightly reduced. I did not want some generic upturned or too small or “piggy” nose. And he delivered exactly the nose I wanted! I am so happy so far with the results. I hope to report more good news in a few more weeks and will post some more post-op pics!
And if you live in Southern California… just GO to Dr. Layke, he really is the best and he’ll give you a very natural nose and the one you want. And if you don’t live around here… Fly to him and go to him anyway! You will be so happy you did. And no I don’t work for him or get any kind of prize or toaster oven for shouting his praises, I’m just trying to help people out and not waste as much time. Good luck!